


It Has To Be You

by Carey_Miller



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Aka they’re all pretty gay for eachother but don’t know how to say it, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Arguments, Awkwardness, Best Friends, Binhwan (Unrequieted), Close Acquaintances, Cross posted on Wattpad, Dating, Donghyuk is a barista, Double B, Fluff, He’s the Maknae on Top, Junbob (Unrequieted), M/M, Matchmaker Chanwoo, Matchmaking, One-Sided Attraction, Romance, Slice of Life, Yunhyeong and him are roommates, alternate universe - everybody lives/nobody dies, author has lost control of her fanfic, background BTS members lol, background namjin - Freeform, background sope, background taekook - Freeform, break ups, childhood best friends, friends - Freeform, junhwan, love square, main ships are double b and junhwan, oh my god they were roommates, please help her, side ship is yundong, unrequieted feelings, unrequieted love, yundong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2019-10-23 02:45:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17674949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carey_Miller/pseuds/Carey_Miller
Summary: A love square with four idiotic and hopeless boys, a pair of anxious close acquaintances who don't know how to get pass "Hi, how are you?" in a conversation, a sassy matchmaker whose trying to tie everything together, a group of seven chaotic friends who just want to survive their college years.(Cross posted on Wattpad)





	1. Today Is Going To Be A Good Day And Here’s Why...

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I usually don't write kpop fanfiction (I mostly write DEH fics and post them on a different account) but I couldn't resist writing a story about a love square about some dorks, plus a side story with more dorks XD
> 
> I'm sorry if all of them seem out of character, I don't know them well enough to get their personalities right! (I'm pretty new to iKON ^^) (But I’ve kinda tweaked their personalities a bit to fit the story, if that makes sense?)
> 
> I hope you all stick around for the whole (unplanned) 20+ chapters of this chaotic mess, and enjoy~~

~~~ Hanbin's POV (Third) ~~~

“What the... hell...” Kim Hanbin could absolutely not believe his eyes. Staring at his classes for his sophomore year in college, there was one class that absolutely bothered him. His acting class was instead replaced with a creative writing class—something he absolutely knows he’s not good at. Today just started, and it absolutely was not an ideal and good day for him.

Mumbling under his breath, he folds the piece of paper into halves and shoves them into his pocket. His phone chimes right at that moment, and he instinctively checks it. The edges of his mouth curves up in a smile as he reads who the message is from— Jinhwan, his childhood best friend for 10 years.

_**13 cm fairy:** Hanbin!!!! I got into the acting class, what about you?!!_

Staring at his phone, he frowns in disappointment. Disappointment that he didn’t get into the same class as Jinhwan, and disappointment that he has to tell him the unfortunate news.

Then again, he could lie about it. Go to the counsellor’s office and ask if he could switch the classes. If he runs right now, he’ll have time to hang out with Jinhwan at their shared dorms.

_**Me:** I haven’t gotten mine yet! And luckyyyy_

He doesn’t see what Jinhwan replies with as he shoves his phone into his pocket. Picking up the pace, he runs down the hallways of the language building. Opening the doors of the building, he sees a little bit of light stream through the clouds before complete darkness and something impact his chest.

Falling to the ground, he lets out a groan and blinks multiple times. He hears someone else apologize, and it's terrifyingly familiar. Looking up, his heart beat increases and his cheeks turn pink.

Kim Jiwon, better known as his more preferred name Bobby, stands in front of him. He looks slightly worried and shocked, and extends his hand out to Hanbin. “Hey, I’m sorry for running into you. Are you alright?”

Hesitating, Hanbin tries to form words that came out as weird broken sentences. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine actually, I wasn’t looking where I was going! I’m sorry, are you alright? Is your face okay? Wait, I mean, I didn’t walk right into you, did I?” His cheeks turn redder by the second and he hurries to get himself off of the cement ground.

Oh God, why did Hanbin have to have this sorta conversation with the guy he likes, who probably sees him as an invisible musical nerd!

Dusting off his pants, he realizes that Bobby is looking at him with a tilted, confused expression. “W-what happened?” Hanbin asks, and he internally panics as he wonders if he looks weird right now.

Bobby shakes his head, straightening his posture and shrugging. “Have I met you before?”

Hanbin finds himself shatter, talking in a deep breath and wanting to let out a sob. _We’ve met that one time last year, where you helped me when I was getting bullied because of my looks. You literally saved me and I seriously like you way too much and what am I even thinking of —_

“N-no, we haven’t!” He lies, feeling himself sink deeper into this short sadness of his stupid feelings. Pretending to check his phone as if he got a notification, he excuses himself and sprints to the staff building, leaving Bobby to stand at the door with no idea what happened.

Reaching the doors, he pants and rethinks his life choices once again. He grips the door handle and smacks himself in the head, annoyed with himself. “Ugh, why did I say that? I could of had a conversation with him! I could of had an excuse to talked to him!” Hanbin mutters, dusting off his pants and entering the building. What a terrible day, what a way to start of the first day of his sophomore year.

Walking down the slightly familiar hallways, he finds his counsellor and knocks on the door.

“Come in,” A voice on the other side of the door says, and Hanbin enters, bowing. “Ah, Kim Hanbin, do you like your assigned classes for the semester?”

Hanbin stands at the door, hands folded and he hesitates. “Um, I can here to request a time table change?”

His counsellor doesn’t blink. “For which class?”

“Acting. I mean, I want to switch my creative writing class for theatre.” Hanbin swallows, thinking of Jinhwan and how sad he would be. He fiddles with his fingers and starts to sweat, wondering if this was a good idea. He doesn’t mind creative writing, but it just comes with a cost of not walking with Jinhwan to class every few days.

The counsellor gives him a bit of a smile, but proceeds to explain why Hanbin didn't get into the class. “There has been a jump in enrolled students this year, and unfortunately there is not enough spots for everyone to be in the theatre class. Unless there is a very explicit reason that you need to be in that class, such as credits, I cannot do anything. I’m very sorry, Hanbin.”

Disappointed, Hanbin tried to smile and he bowed again. “I understand, but thank you anyways.” He bows once more before exiting the room. Walking down the halls, his foot steps echos and he suddenly feels alone. Even if there are over 50 teachers and staff in the building at that very moment, Hanbin can’t help but to feel alone.

He’s never been separated from Jinhwan since they’ve met. Ever since meeting him when Hanbin first moved to Canada when he was 10 without knowing any English, only Jinhwan introduced himself in Korean. Only Jinhwan said hi and became friends with Hanbin. Only Jinhwan smiled at him in the halls for all of elementary school. Only Jinhwan was by his side and helped Hanbin throughout the years, teaching him English and with Hanbin’s suffering grades.

For a while, they had each other. For a while, they were okay with that.

Yet unlike Jinhwan, Hanbin was able to make other friends once high school started. His classmates saw him as a charismatic, charming class president throughout the four years of school. He was well liked and sorta popular, but no one bothered to see past that. He supposed that people only liked him cause he was good looking and helped people with their homework, but not because of his personality or that they really wanted to be Hanbin's friend.

Jinhwan wasn’t able to reach out to anyone in his high school years. He was too introverted, to shy and nervous to talk to people, and his anxiety made everything harder.

— — —

“You know what sucks?” Jinhwan had asked Hanbin one time, they were hanging out together after school at the park near his house, with spring break for their Grade 10 year. They sat on the swings, gently swinging back and forth as the sun was setting.

“What?” Hanbin asked, slowing down his swings.

Keeping his lips in a straight line, he blinked a few times and took a deep breath, digging his heels into the dirt and holding onto the metal chains of the swings. “When you have not one, but two types of anxiety disorders.”

Hanbin stopped swinging, staring at Jinhwan. “E-eh?”

The smaller boy looked away, as if he was embarrassed. “Mm...”

Turning his body to face Jinhwan, Hanbin stared at him and tried to collect his thoughts. “Jinan... are you okay?”

“I'm okay.” Jinhwan replies, his voice chipped slightly and short. He stutters and tried to cover his voice with an uncaring and blank voice, but Hanbin new better.

“Jinan... you can tell me anything, you don’t have to lie. Please, tell me the truth.” Hanbin realized that his voice sounded desperate and pleading, and tried to make it more comforting and softer.

There’s a long pause, and Jinhwan pushes his feet to start swinging again. “I wish I could be like you. I wish I could make friends easily and talk to people with ease. I wish I could live my life without constantly worrying about everything. I wish I could live my life without being scared of interacting with people. I wish I could be me, but better. I wish I...” His voice cracks, and his grip on the chains tighten, knuckles white and his palms red. Tears form in the corner of his eyes and he blinks them away.

“I wish I was enough, and that I can be enough for you.” Jinhwan says, the tears flowing down his cheeks and he lets out a choked sob. Hanbin finds himself kicking the soles of his shoes into the ground, bolting up from the swing and to the smaller boy, cupping Jinhwan’s cheeks.

“Jinhwan, you are enough for me. You’re more than enough for me.” Hanbin whispers, wiping a few tears away with his thumb. “I wouldn’t want someone else.”

Looking up, Jinhwan's eyes widen a bit. “R-r-really? I’m enough... for you?” He stutters out, followed by a hiccup, his voice small and he looks like a lost puppy. His hands relax, and he slowly lets go of the chains, the tension in his shoulders loosening.

“Of course you are, Jinhwan.” The taller boy assures, leaning forward and he lets their forehead touch. “You were always enough for me.”

Letting out a soft sigh, Jinhwan smiles and holds onto Hanbin's warm hands. “T-thank you...”

If only Hanbin would've known that something changed between them after that day.


	2. Cause Today... Today, You’re You... And That’s Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter!! Featuring the most popular boy on campus, Bobby, and his good friend (aka the playboy of the campus) Junhoe! Hope you enjoy this chapter~~!!

~~~ Bobby's POV (Third) ~~~

Bobby watched as the slightly shorter red-faced boy ran away, feeling confused and a bit mystified. For sure he’s seen that boy somewhere, but he can’t quite put his finger on it.

 _What was his name again...?_ He thought, staring at where the boy had ran off to. After a few more seconds, Bobby shrugs and opens the door of the language building, but hears a crumple sound beneath him.

Looking down, he notices a neatly folded piece of paper at the tip of his converses. Bending down, he picks it up and opens it gingerly, eyes scanning the paper as he reads it.

**_Kim Hanbin, Sophomore_ **

**_Homeroom: Building #420, Room 4_ **

**_Student Number: 10221996_ **

**_Classes (Semester 1)_ **

**_— Creative Writing 101: Building #159, Room 7. Time: 11:30 AM, Tuesdays_ **

**_— Physics 101: Building #918, Room 5. Time: 4:00 PM, Wednesdays_ **

**_— Economics 101: Building #341, Room 3. Time: 2:30 PM, Fridays_ **

**_— Psychology 101: Building #572, Room 8. Time: 10:00 AM, Sundays_ **

Kim Hanbin, that’s who was the boy who Bobby had ran into, literally. Now when Bobby thinks of it, it’s definitely familiar. A short, almost gentle and cute name with a catchy ring to it.

Refolding the page, he neatly puts it into the inside pocket of his black cardigan, mentally reminding himself to return it if he happens to see him again.

 _Kim Hanbin... where have I seen you before?_ He thinks, proceeding to enter the language building and walking down the halls. He’s already had his homeroom, and now wonders around to check out his classes for his first semester. There are a few people in the hallways, and they seem to have the same idea as him. Most of them know Bobby, since he’s the most well known boy on campus, and they all awknowledge him, in which he smiles back.

Bobby finds his Korean class at the end of the hall, and takes a peek inside. It’s plain, boring and old looking. Wood desks, plastic chairs, a few words in Korean that means ‘learn’ or something else encouraging.

If he didn’t move to America and Canada so early in his life, maybe he wouldn’t have to be that Korean boy who knew barely anything in Korean. If his parents were able to teach him Korean when he was still young, he wouldn’t have to be here.

Frowning, Bobby turns back and shoves his hands in his pocket, feeling his phone and pulling it out. As he walks back to the exit, he sees that he’s received a text from his good friend, Koo Junhoe.

_**Junhweeeee:** How’d you like your classes so far? And did you get into Creative Writing?_

His frown deepens and Bobby kind of wishes that he didn’t have to tell Junhoe that no, he did not get into creative writing. Meaning that he wouldn’t have a good excuse to spend time with Junhoe. And meaning, that they’d have less time to see each other.

The thought itself feels depressing, and Bobby quickly tries to replace it with something more optimistic. _You’ll still see him, don’t be like those love-struck high school girls. He’ll still be your good friend, he’ll still be with you. It’s not like your going to lose him to some girl. Or guy, if he swings that way._

_**Me:** My Korean class looks boring as hell, but better than being in a stinky portable all day. And no, I guess the creative writing class was full. I got some theatre class as a replacement._

_**Junhweeeee:** Oh fun._

_**Me:** Also, have you heard of the name Kim Hanbin anywhere?_

Bobby waits for a reply, but it never comes. He hides his disappointment when he slips his phone back into his pocket, and feels the piece of paper Kim Hanbin dropped earlier.

He doesn’t see Junhoe at their shared dorms either when he gets back, and he doesn’t get any sort of phone call or text for the rest of the day.

“He’s probably busy. As always with his part time job.” Bobby tells himself, and lays down on the plush duvet covers of his extra long twin size bed. Head against the pillow, he closes his eyes and thinks about Junhoe more.

His smirk-like smile, his intoxicating laugh, everything about him. How his eyes seem to twinkle when he thinks of something mischievous, the way his body moves when he walks down the halls, his deep hushed voice when they talk quietly late at night in the dark.

Thinking about Junhoe makes Bobby’s heart race, his fingers tingle a bit and he feels nervous. It does hit a sore spot, knowing that Junhoe acts flirtatious with everyone, girls especially.

The college’s playboy, everyone knows him. Everyone wants to date him, everyone wants to get in bed with him.

 _He’s a virgin, you idiots. He’s never had... that, with anyone. Aren’t we all virgins in this college?_ Bobby snorts, thinking how weird girls are whenever Junhoe walks past them. How they try to hang all over him and press their flat chests against his arms. _Ew. Girls._

His body tenses a bit, and he feels jealous. He wishes that Junhoe would see past their friendship and think of him as more than a friend. That this one-sided, hopeless pining idiot is totally whipped for him.

Donghyuk’s words ring in his ears, gentle and encouraging. _“You know that it’s not going to work out. He obviously isn’t interested, girls or guys. Don’t let your feelings for him hurt you, don’t ever let him hurt you. You deserve someone better.”_

Bobby really should listen to Donghyuk.

Finally, his body relaxes again and he thinks of how the two of them met, his mind wandering. How his feelings might be for someone other than Junhoe if they didn’t have such a weird past with each other. How this pain in his heart might not be there if they never met in the first place.

— — —

This new kid in the class was pissing off Bobby more than it should. Just, _what the hell?_ How can someone, full of confidence and this bright, blinding aura come out of nowhere? Is this even allowed?

It was very weird; Bobby was used to being that popular boy in his Grade 9 class, he was used to being crowded with a bunch of people who always wanted to talk to him. Not that he liked it, the sudden space and freedom he was given today, but it certainly was... not what he was used to.

And no, Bobby was _not_ jealous. He simply was... taken aback. A hot guy Korean comes to Canada, making Bobby the only other Korean in the whole school, and already has people surrounding him instantly. It’s only 30 minutes into the start of class, but all eyes are already on the new kid.

Not to mention, this new kid already flirted with almost everyone at least once.

 _Excuse me, we’re fourteen. Can you_ not _flirt with everyone?_

Bobby sinks further into his seat, ignoring the hushed whispers the girls around the new kid were constantly sharing. He didn’t even know _why_ this boy was annoying him, it’s not like he did anything to Bobby.

Playing with the wooden pencil in his hand, he taps it every once in a while against the wobbly desk. The teacher lectures on and on about Chemistry and Bobby feels like he could fall asleep in his seat right now.

 _End me. Now._ Bobby thinks, letting out a grunt and closing his eyes, leaning the front of his head against his arms. _Can I just not be here? With this new kid who sits a few seats back constantly talking and flirting?_

Finally, the teacher announces that they would be put into pairs, and left to go work for some assignment. _This means that I can be back in the spotlight, right? I’ll show this new kid his place._

Another part of himself was telling him that he was being a competitive, jealous asshole. It was probably true, but fourteen year old Bobby didn’t give two shits about people’s feelings.

(Nineteen year old Bobby looks back at his fourteen year old self, and really wishes to slap himself for being such an ass.)

He didn’t realize that he zoned out until the teacher calls him out, “Bobby, why don’t you be partners with Junhoe? Make him feel welcomed and perhaps speak to him in Korean to make him feel like he’s not far away from home.”

_Bull. Shit._

“Of course.” Bobby says, and he turns to look over to Junhoe, but it turns out to be that he’s already by Bobby’s desk.

“Hello, I’m Koo Junhoe! Nice to meet you, Bobby!” Junhoe says in Korean, and Bobby can barely keep up.

_Wait, he said nice to meet you, right? God, I should of practiced more Korean at home when I had the oppourtunity too._

“Oh, ah, hello. Nice to meet you too.” Bobby answers, suddenly feeling very self aware and conscious about his surroundings. He looks around, and catches a few gazes from the other students, who all look away quickly. “Sorry, my Korean isn’t that good.”

From how Junhoe seemed to act before, Bobby expected to be humiliated because he can’t speak shit. Bobby expected to be looked down upon because he wasn’t good enough, apparently.

Instead, Junhoe just smiled and told him that it was fine. “I know a bit of English, but I’m probably like you when it comes to Korean.”

 _Is that supposed to make me feel any better...?_ “It should be fine, I can help you with English.” _Wait, why did I say this? I’m supposed to show everyone that I’m the one whose the cool guy, not this newbie._

“Really? Thank you!” Junhoe bows, and his smile is infectious. It’s much more sincere than before, and it looks like he actually is happy and not putting up some facade for the girls to squeal over.

 _Give him a chance, you idiot. You’re the one whose being an ass._ Calming himself down, Bobby tries to push his asshole-ness away and be real and genuine, like Junhoe. “Definitely!” He paused when the bell rang, and people started to stand up and crowd them. More specifically, crowd Junhoe.

“Ahh, we can show you around the school, Junhwe!” A girl says, with her friends nodding beside her.

Junhoe smiles, and Bobby notices that it’s definitely strained. _He’s not trying to be popular, he’s just trying be sincere. You’re a fucking asshole, Kim Jiwon._

Took him forever to realize, idiot.

“Actually, my new friend Bobby is going to show me around! Right?” Junhoe says, his voice clearly uncomfortable and he links arms with Bobby, leaning against him. In Korean, he adds the horrific when saying Bobby’s name. “Hyung, lets go!”

_Oh. My. God. I’m gay._

“Y-yeah, lets go, Junhoe!” _What, what, what?_ _How am I suddenly kinda into this guy who I didn’t like five minutes ago? What the fuck, universe?_

The two of them pack their bags as the people around them give disappointed looks, but don’t push anymore than that. Exiting the Chemistry class, Bobby walks to their next (conveniently, shared) History class, moving animatedly and rethinking his life choices.

“H-hey, sorry if I said anything weird back there. I know you didn’t really like me taking the crowd away from you.” Junhoe begins when they’re halfway there, and it surprises Bobby. “I thought you were really cool though, from what the girls said. They talked a lot about you.”

“Oh, um, thanks?” Bobby swallows, and mentally kicks himself for sounding like some awkward twelve year old. “And I’m sorry for making you feel bad in anyway, it wasn’t cool at all.”

Junhoe grins, and slings his arm around Bobby. “You’re cool, you know that?”

Chuckling, Bobby shakes his head. “Nah,” _I just met you and we kinda didn’t get along cause I was a jerk, but you’re the cool one. Being all understanding and chill for such a playboy-like guy._

“I just met you, but I have a weird feeling that we’ll be close friends.” Junhoe adds, and lets out a chuckle. He removes his arm from Bobby’s shoulder, shoving them into his hoodie pockets.

“I never had any friends, even though people liked me... but I know that this time, things will be different.” He flashes a confident, toothy smile to Bobby, and Bobby’s heart flutters a bit.

_That stupid smile. I fell for him because of his smile._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!! The comments that I got this morning made me smile like an idiot in French class, and I’m sure my teacher looked at me weirdly XD
> 
> If you liked it, please leave a comment! Even a small one, it always makes my day/night better!!


	3. All You Have To Do Is Be Yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter!! School sucks and so is my mental health. Ahh, anyways, this chapter features everyone’s favourite noise pollution boy, Junhoeeee!!!! 
> 
> Poetry is by me, please DO NOT use it/repost/steal it!

~~~ Junhoe's POV (Third) ~~~

Kim Hanbin, of course he knew who that kid was. Literally, Kim Hanbin was the most talked about boy in all of the campus last year. Sure, his best friend Bobby and himself were the most popular pair of friends that everyone _knew_ , but not the most talked about.

Damn, Bobby was really dense. Did he not know that Kim Hanbin literally tried to talk to him everytime he was around them? Or that Kim Hanbin gave these gooey, love struck stares at the slightly taller boy?

Junhoe was an idiot, he admits that fact himself. But Bobby was the oblivious idiot out of the two.

Without replying to Bobby, he casually puts his phone away to his back jean pocket, and heads out to the campus cafe. He is greeted with looks of admiration and stares, but ignores them as he swiftly nods his head to the barista. “Hey, Donghyuk. The regular, as usual.”

“Junhoe! And I already got it done for you!” Donghyuk flashes his customer service smile, handing Junhoe's favourite drink — a caramel Frappuccino— while waiting for the taller boy to pay. “How do you like your classes?”

“They’re alright, Bobby and I didn’t get into the same classes though.” He explains, taking a sip of the hot coffee and licking his lips. Junhoe tries not to sound disappointed, but he can tell that Donghyuk already knows. “What about you?”

The barista gives Junhoe a small shrug, tapping his fingernails against the table. “Chanwoo and I are thinking of joining the dance club. You should join, too. I also think Jinhwan is in my theatre class as well.”

Junhoe's attention is immediately captured by hearing _Jinhwan’s_ name. His ears turn red, heart beating faster and his whole body tingles. “Wh-what? How?”

Donghyuk chuckles, doing an order for the customer behind Junhoe and leaves the taller boy hanging. “Chanwoo is literally the theatre instructor’s son. He knows whose in the class and he's the tutor.” He gives Junhoe a ‘you can’t be that stupid’ look, but smiles.

“You’re so whipped for a boy you barely know.” He continues, looking at his watch and asking another employee to take over, his shift finished. Whipping his hands on a clean towel, he takes off his apron. “Get it, _whipped_? Cause I'm a barista and—”

“I-I’m not!” Junhoe stutters and drinks his frappuccino to prevent himself from stuttering any more than he should (he has a reputation, obviously.) He grins at the thought that he does have dirt to use against his friend. “But what about that boy you’ve been rambling about? Yunhyeong, was it?”

Donghyuk instantly turns red and shakes his head, waving his hands in the air and drags Junhoe to the far table, with Junhoe almost spilling his drink.

“H-he's just someone I happen to see in the hallways.” Donghyuk stammers out, nervously tapping his fingers on the polished wooden table, looking around to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

“Sure, sure.” Junhoe winks and grins, clearly enjoying the fact that Donghyuk was really easy to tease. He watches as the shorter boy buries his face into hands. “Is he new to the school?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Donghyuk finally removes his hands, face still red. “M-maybe? Why?”

“You could show him around if he’s new, start a conversation with him, become friends, get close enough, date, marry and adopt three kids...” Junhoe rambles on, and Donghyuk pushes him.

“You just want to do that with Jinhwan! I-I just want to be friends with Yunhyeong, who I don't even know and who doesn't know me...” Donghyuk bites his lips, standing up and pouts. He slowly sinks back into his seat, slumping even further into it.

Junhoe smirks, “You know I’m right.”

“ _Exactly_. That’s why... ugh, whatever. I need to focus on this year, I can’t let myself be distracted because I’m kinda interested in a boy.”

They talk for a bit more before Junhoe finally finishes his drink and leaves to check out his classes for this semester.

Walking out of the cafe, Junhoe wanders around to find his creative writing class. He only signed up for it because he heard he could write some poetry in it. Poetry was literally the only thing that prompted him to join. Otherwise, what was the point of joining? Bobby wasn’t in it, Jinhwan wasn’t in it, and Donghyuk wasn’t in it.

Finally finding the room, he sees the one and only Kim Hanbin inside. No one else is inside but him, and the boy seems lost in thought, staring outside.

“I... lost my schedule...” Junhoe hears Kim Hanbin murmur, patting his pockets semi-frantically. “What am I going to tell Jinhwan?”

His ears perk up, and he accidentally shouts, “Jinhwan?!” Before slapping his hands over his loud mouth.

Kim Hanbin instantly turns around, surprised, “E-eh? What?”

Junhoe backpedals and waves his hands around frantically. He finds himself blushing and embarrassed. Donghyuk was right, he really was whipped for Jinhwan. “Sorry! I just heard you say Jinhwan and I, um, always wanted to be friends with him!” He lies, and knows later that he’d smack himself in the face.

“W-with Kim Jinhwan? Why?” Kim Hanbin narrows his eyes slightly, protective best friend mode turned on and he folds his arms, an cloud of confident, charismatic you hurt him, you die aura surrounding him. He doesn’t look anything like he was a few moments ago, but that's probably the least of Junhoe's worries.

“C-cause...”  _Cause he’s really cute and kind and mature and I’m weak for those kind of boys. “_ Cause a friend of mine wanted to be introduced with him, that’s all.”

“That's all?” Kim Hanbin still gives Junhoe a skeptical look but his shoulders relax, before looking away. “Jinhwan isn’t much of a social person, it took a while for him to open to me.”

 _That's not going to stop me from pursuing him but off I go I guess,_  “O-oh.”

Kim Hanbin nods, and walks past Junhoe and into the hallway. He pauses halfway, his voice a bit more lighter and anxious. “I-if you want to get closer to Jinhwan... can you help me get closer to your friend Bobby?”

Junhoe's mind blanks for a few seconds, staring at the boy in front of him. _If I can get closer to Jinhwan with Hanbin’s help... I could help him get closer to Bobby... Does he want to be friends with Bobby, is that why?_

“Yeah!” Wait, does he sound to excited? Oh god, calm down. “Y-yeah.”

Kim Hanbin blinks a few times, his confident and charismatic demeanour fading and turning into a more nervous puddle of goo. “Okay. Deal?” He reaches his hand out, and Junhoe takes it, smiling.

“Deal.”

— — —

Junhoe makes his way to his shared dorm, scratching his head and he hears his phone buzz. He checks it, thinking to see Bobby’s name appear. But instead, he sees Donghyuk’s name pop up.

_**DingDong** : Oh my god!!!!!!! I just got back to my dorm and my roommate is Yunhyeong!!!! My other roommate moved out and Yunhyeong is new!!!!!_

_**Me** : Oh my god you guys are roommates._

_**DingDong** : What do I do???_

_**Me** : The sheer amount of exclamation marks and question marks you put into one text is making me dyslexic._

_**Me** : I guess.... woo him or something? Do a wink wonk and hopes that your hot face will seduce him._

_**DingDong** : You know I can’t do that!!!!! If anything, he’ll end up unintentionally seducing me!!!!_

_**Me** : Oh my god._

Junhoe stuffs his phone away, chuckling. He thinks of how lucky Donghyuk and his new roommate is, he'd literally sell all of his poems to share a dorm with the guy he’s intensely crushing on.

By the way, he’s never thought of this, but why exactly does he like Jinhwan for? Sure, he's cute and kind (from what he's seen), but that can’s be all...

Closing his eyes, he thinks of it, recalling the memory from less than a year ago.

— — —

“Is anyone sitting here?”

Junhoe looks up from his phone and stares at the small boy who stands at the side of his table. Scanning head to toe, the boy was rather... really cute. Insanely attractive and innocent looking. Swallowing, he looks at the seat next to him, and hesitates, unsure if he would be able to handle someone really cute sitting near him. “I, um, I don't think so?”

The boy does a quick bow and smiles, relieved and he sits down. “Thanks, I was afraid I’d have to sit near the trash cans again for lunch.” He says quietly, almost like a murmur.

He only nods, and looks back at his phone without really registering what the boy said to him, but the thought of how _damn_ cute he was floating in his head. Junhoe tries to push those gay thoughts away, hoping for Bobby to wildly appear and not make a fool out of themselves.

Half of Junhoe's lunch goes smoothly, with him scrolling through Instagram and occasionally liking the pictures that appear on his feed. The boy doesn’t talk to him, and that nervous feeling in his stomach goes away. He finishes his lunch and puts down his phone, tossing his sandwich bag to the trash.

Junhoe’s eyes then slowly look up at the boy in front of him, who mindlessly stares at someone a few seats away. Curiously, Junhoe looks to see who the boy was looking at, but he can't quite pick out who. The boy in the red flannel? The girl in demin? Was it a crush, was just a friend?

He hears some paper crinkling and Junhoe looks back at the boy in front of him, who was now crumpling a small piece of paper in minor annoyance, before poorly throwing it to the trash cans.

Missing it by a clear landslide, the boy pouts but doesn’t go and properly throw it away. Junhoe chuckles, amused at how badly that throw was. _Bobby would of easily cleared that shot,_ he thought and the frowns. Bobby still hasn't arrived yet, where the hell could he be?

“Thank you for letting me sit here,” that same soft voice from earlier said, and Junhoe blinks, tilting his head up to properly face the boy. “Can I come here next time?”

“Sure.” Junhoe says without thought, and the latter smiles in relief. It was small and simple, yet so perfect and sincere and so very real. It had hints of melancholy and his eyes seemed to tell a different story (not that Junhoe would realize until a bit later.) It makes Junhoe’s heart do a _ba-dum_ and he's taken aback.

“Um, see you...” He gulps, realizing that he didn't catch his name. “Uh...?”

“J-Jinhwan, Kim Jinhwan.” The boy replies, and nods his head. “And... see you.”

 _Kim Jinhwan... how have I not noticed your smile before?_ Junhoe watches Jinhwan walk away, and he sort of misses the other’s presence. Even if it was not for long. Then again, they barely interacted and talked, maybe Junhoe is feeling sick or lonely because Bobby didn't come to hang out.

Junhoe cranes his neck to see Jinhwan walk out of the cafeteria, and remembers the poorly thrown piece of paper nearby. A part of him tells him that no, he shouldn't look at other people's garbage, but the other part of him asks why not, it's not like it was important.

Cautiously, he stands up briefly to walk to nearby the trash, pretending to drop something before kneeling down, picking up the paper ball. Rising up slowly, he curiously reads it.

 

_ Loud _

_I wish that you’d see me through the darkness_

_You are the light that guides me, my own brightness_

_I wish that you’d notice me in the crowd_

_If only my mind wasn't always so loud_

_I wish that you won't forget me one day_

_Please don’t turn you back and walk away_

_Even if we still are and will be just friends_

_I don’t want our relationship to end_

 

Junhoe reads the poem once, twice, and three times before someone walks by and gives him a concerned look.

He mutters out an apology, yet still captivated by the poem. Heart beating quickly and ears red, his breath was taken away instantly. Fidgeting, he wants to compliment Jinhwan and fanboy over how utterly amazing it was, how he wants to know what's next.

It was sad and painful, a clear one sided love that would never be requited. A type of poetry that Junhoe wishes he could write (he didn’t choose creative writing for nothing, poetry is what he came for.)

Yet, was that why Jinhwan was looking at someone at the nearby tables? Was that why he seemed disappointed? Was that why his smile seemed... melancholic?

Folding the paper neatly, he puts that poem away into his pocket and stares at the cafeteria door, where Jinhwan was last seen. He wonders, what will it take to make Jinhwan truly smile? To not feel so disappointed and sad over a one sided love. To make him write poetry that didn’t feel heart wrenching.

Junhoe doesn’t know if this absurd tingling in his chest is love or something, but he wants to feel it again, wants to have that _ba-dum ba-dum_ rythem playing like a looped record.

So maybe it was love, maybe he was just more gayer than he thought it was. Whatever it was, he wants to more of it, and he wants Jinhwan to feel the same.

_Kim Jinhwan... can I help bring a true smile to your face?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!! We’ll get to Jinhwan’s part in the next chapter! I also realized that I didn’t really get to Hanbin’s part where he falls for Bobby... ehh, I’ll squish it in somehow ;)
> 
> Thanks to all of the lovely comments last chapter, y’all made my day!! Please send in some comments, even if it’s a small one!! I’ll see y’all next time :DDD
> 
> Edit: Read my comment for this chapter!!!  
> (Or if your lazy, basically it’s me considering the idea of writing an au where it’s endgame binhwan and junbob instead of double b and junhwan. Post a comment if you want it!!!!)


	4. All Of My Hope Is Pinned On You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I hope you liked the last chapter!! Someone commented on the AO3 version of this fic and mentioned ‘endgame binhwan’ so I was considering the thought of making an alternate ending with endgame Binhwan and Junbob! Leave a comment if you want a endgame Binhwan/Junbob version!!

~~~ Jinhwan's POV (Third) ~~~

 _I know you like him, but I wished that you’d notice me too. I’m here, you know?_ Jinhwan thought to himself, he and Hanbin sitting on the park bench for lunch. He’s heard Hanbin ramble on about Bobby over and over again, ever since Hanbin met him.

Was he jealous? Well, he guesses that you could call it that. Envious seemed like the proper word, but oh well.

Jinhwan was simply the best friend who hopelessly in love with someone who’d never see him in that way. Who didn’t even know, who probably wouldn't think of Jinhwan as something more. It hurts to know that, it hurts to know that Hanbin would just think of Jinhwan as a friend.

 _I wish I was Bobby, or like him. I wish I was tall and popular and someone everyone liked. I wish Hanbin would be in love with me, and this bitter love wouldn't be unrequited. It really sucks, I don’t want to feel so much pain for something like this._ Jinhwan plays with his phone in his hands, shifting in his spot and he looks over to Hanbin every few seconds, hoping he wasn't being too weird.

He noticed that Hanbin was checking his phone more than usual as well, and he frowned. _I wish he would check out me._

Finishing his lunch, Jinhwan feels that nothing would happen today. Nothing that could further their relationship, nothing that will make Hanbin think twice of his childhood best friend. _But at least still is by my side, and that’s good enough for me._

Misfortune struck just as he thought that, and Hanbin stood up immediately. “Jinhwan, I just remembered that I, uh, have something to attend! I’ll see you at the dorms later, okay?” Hanbin's voice was a bit rushed and he seemed rather excited, bouncing up and down. He didn’t hide his fake sadness well, but Jinhwan tried to pretend that he didn’t notice.

“Totally, I’ll see you later.” Jinhwan replied, forcing a smile and waving Hanbin off, pretending to not be hurt either. Why should he be, Hanbin had his own life and Jinhwan had his own. He really should stop trying to interfere and push himself into Hanbin’s already stressful life.

Looking back at his phone, the bright white numbers shone in his face. 12:30, he had plenty of time to grab a drink and some snacks to binge on later. He knew that Hanbin would be back late, since he was invited to hang out with the upperclassmen tonight. Welp, time to rewatch _Yuri!!! on Ice_ for the fifth time and cry over the tenth episode again.

Standing up and stretching, he slings his backpack onto his shoulders, phone in hand and walks to the cafeteria. As he enters the busy room, he holds in his breath and hopes that no one would turn their heads to look at him. Jinhwan feels all eyes on him, anyways, but prays that they're turn to someone else.

Taking out his wallet, he puts in some coins into the slots of the vending machine and buys some cheap off-brand coffee. Opening it up, he takes a sip and it’s surprisingly sweet. Jinhwan hums a bit, savouring the taste and doesn’t pay attention to where he was going.

Bumping into someone, he falls and spills his coffee all over him, the coolness of it and the shock from the impact making him instantly frozen and full of panic. He barely is able to register who the person he bumped into, but he feels someone help him up and apologize profusely.

“Oh god, are you okay? I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” The person says, and Jinhwan recognizes it from somewhere. He tries to focus, and realizes that it's that guy who let him sit down at his table during lunch last year. “Crap, you’re covered in coffee!!”

Jinhwan looks down at himself, and sees that there's a large stain on his cozy white pullover hoodie. “O-oh, sorry...”  _Sorry for bumping into you, sorry for being a mess and making you look bad._

“Why are you saying sorry for, it was my fault!” The guy says, and he extends his hand.

Looking at the guy’s hands, Jinhwan hesitates to take it. Should he, should he not? It's rude to not to, but his hands are sweaty and he probably looks weird and like a lost dog, so maybe he could save himself and this guy the trouble of embarrassing each other anymore. “S-sorry...” He says again, pushing himself up and off of the linoleum flooring.

“So, um, do you want help to get rid of that stain? Oh, wait, I can buy you a new coffee!” The guy says, retracting his hand and awkwardly putting it away in his jean pocket.

“I, uh, I can wash it off at h-home.”  _Hopefully my older sister knows what to do, cause I sure don’t._  “And it’s okay, I don’t want to...”

He pauses. _I don’t want to burden you anymore, I don’t want to make the situation any worse than it already is, please just let me get out of here and away from everyone's stares._

“Jinhwan...? You don’t want to... what?”

Jinhwan blinks in surprise, wondering how this guy knows his name, but he doesn’tknow his. “Sorry, um, it’t fine, I-I just need to go...” He slightly pushes past the guy, hurrying off to the washroom and taking off his pullover hoodie. Thank gosh he has a tee shirt underneath, but the cool autumn afternoon thinks otherwise.

He stuffs his shirt into his backpack, shivering as he walks out of the washroom. The dorms are too far away, and his sister’s apartment is even farther. Hanbin is busy doing whatever, and Yunhyeong is with Chanwoo right now. _I guess I'll just wait until classes are over._

To his surprise (again), he sees the same guy waiting a few meters away, holding the same brand of coffee in his hands. His face lightens up a bit, with a dorky puppy like grin on his face and he walks towards Jinhwan. “I got you coffee anyways! I hope it’s fine.” He passes it to Jinhwan, and Jinhwan can’t help but to accept it. ( _Just say no, Jinhwan, it’s not hard!_ He thinks.)

They stand a bit in the middle of the hallway before the guy clears his voice. “So, do you want to go outside for a bit?” He scratches his head, tilting it a bit towards the door.

 _If you don't want to be alone anymore, you loner, then accept the damn offer. “_ O-okay.”

It’s cold outside, much to Jinhwan’s dismay, but he doesn’t complain. Sipping his even chiller can of coffee, he doesn’t say much and listens to the guy’s rambles about how nice it is outside.

“Oh, oh my god, I realized that I haven’t even introduced myself!!” The guy says, and he gives Jinhwan a sort of terrified look. “I’m Koo Junhoe, but June or Junhwe works too!”

His smile is sort of this radiant, dumbass chaotic good smile, infectious enough to make Jinhwan smile a bit too. It's hard not to smile back, this hot guy who's being oddly nice to Jinhwan.

“Ahh, I’m Kim J-Jinhwan.” _But you already know that, somehow._

Junhoe grins, and Jinhwan expects some sort of handshake. It doesn’t come, which relieves him a lot. “Nice to meet you, Jinani!” Junhoe says, and Jinhwan feels his face turn a bit red.

 _Only Hanbin calls me by a nickname... why is this guy being so familiar with me all of a sudden? I barely remember him from last year, but he seems to know me since then!_  “Nice to meet you too.” He murmurs, ducking his head.

As he does that, a cool breeze rushes past them and Jinhwan sneezes, shivering even more and covering his arms.

Before Jinwhan knows it, Junhoe is taking off his crisp white collared shirt, revealing his muscle shirt and insanely good looking chest to Jinhwan. He puts it over Jinhwan’s shoulders in a smooth motion, “Here.”

“W-wait, I'm alright—!” Jinhwan stammers, and sneezes again. He hears Junhoe chuckle, and moves to take the surprisingly warm shirt off and give it back. “S-seriously, you don’t have to do this.”

“Jinhwan, you look like you’re going to become an icicle if you don’t put something on. It's the least I could do, since I already made you spill your coffee on your only shirt.” Junhoe replies, gently taking the empty can of coffee out of Jinhwan’s hands, placing it down on the park bench and he buttons up the shirt.

Jinhwan doesn’t stop Junhoe, and he has this weird feeling in his chest. He feels warmth radiating off of Junhoe, with his hands that are much larger than Jinhwan’s carefully buttoning the shirt. Staring at the shirt, it’s twice as big as what he wears, the hems of the shirt reaching down to his mid-thigh, sleeves stopping at his fingertips.

Finally, after what feels like forever, Junhoe moves away, smile on his face as he looks at Jinhwan. “Good?”

Absently, he nods. “Y-yeah... thanks.”

They stand awkwardly, the distance between them is closer than before. Millions of thoughts rush through Jinhwan’s head, and his hands start to sweat more again.

Thankfully, the bell rings, and it’s their cue to go back to class. Junhoe nods his head slightly, taking a few steps back. “I'll see you later.” He starts walking, turning his back and shoving his hands into his pockets.

It's so casual and carefree, and Jinhwan wishes that he could be so chill about everything. Without those worries in his head, without constantly thinking of something bad will happen.

“H-hey, um, Junhoe...” Jinhwan calls out and swallows, searching for the words that float around in his head. It’s hard for him to even raise his voice, being quiet and silent was what he's used to.

Junhoe stops, turning back to face Jinhwan. “Hmm?”

“I... um...”  _Come on, say it. Don’t let yourself get the wrong idea, there's defintely something he wants. That’s why he’s being so nice to you. You can’t trust anyone in this world, or they might just leave you after hurting you. You’re lucky that Hanbin is still by your side. “_ Why... why are you so nice to me?”

The taller boy blinks, thinking and searching for his words. “Well... I guess it’s because I like you?”

It's so sudden, and Jinhwan doesn’t know what to do. “Huh, what? Why?!” Shocked, his hands tighten around the hem of the shirt, his eyes squinted and lips trembling.

Junhoe does that thing again, scratching his neck and looking somewhere else. “Because of your poetry? Your personality? Just, you in general?” He says, sort of unsure of _why_ he likes Jinhwan.

“You know, I never thought of why. More like, just cause, I guess.”

“Y-you can’t just ‘guess’! And, and, my poetry? Only—!” Jinhwan stops mid-sentence, realizing that only Hanbin has read his poetry. Unless, unless Junhoe must of read his poem that he threw away a year ago...

Voice wavering, Jinhwan bites his lips to hold in his fear. “Only Hanbin... not you.” He says quietly, hands now tightly clenched on the shirt, and he forces himself to stay still.

_It’s unfair, you can’t just spring your feelings onto me! We barely know each other, we barely even talked before! I like Hanbin, I can’t make room for someone like you._

“Just... why? Why does it have to be me?” Jinhwan ends up saying, trying to control his breathing but doesn’t look up from the ground. _I like Hanbin, and I’m nowhere ready to open up my heart to anyone else. I can’t let someone invade my defences, I can’t make the same mistake again._ He repeats it like a chant.

“I... it just... it has to be you. All of my hope is pinned on you, Jinhwan. I like you.” Junhoe ends up saying, voice sincere and there's no way he could be kidding or playing a prank on him. His face is cherry red, and he tries to hide it by covering his mouth with the back of his hand. Averting his eyes as well, he looks at his phone for the time. “We should go on a date too, if you're not busy!”

_A... a date? Hold up, you’re thinking way to far ahead! I don’t even know you, it doesn’t work like that! If anything, only in fanfiction!_

“Think about it, I gotta run! See you tomorrow!” He gives Jinhwan this cheeky grin, before running off, leaving Jinhwan behind in a confused mess.

Letting out a huff, Jinhwan tries to shake away that weird feeling in his chest, and he pats his face, hoping that his cheeks aren’t red. After standing in his spot for another minute, he makes up his mind.

_There is definitely no way I’ll be seeing him tomorrow!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I!! Absolutely!!! love!!! Comments!!! So!!! Please!!! Leave!! Some!!! :DDD (They are very very appreciated! Even if it’s short, it helps to speed up the writing process and I can churn out chapters faster!)


	5. Who I Don’t Know, And Who Doesn’t Know Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for Yunhyeong and Donghyuk + a mention of Chanwoo!! (I’ll do better my fav maknae T T)! Also, if anyone noticed, the chapter titles more or less foreshadow what will happen! They're also Dear Evan Hansen quotes... heh. Please enjoy this chapter!!

~~~ Donghyuk's POV (Third) ~~~

“Oh my god, can you not?”

Donghyuk flinches for a second before resuming his work, with his coworkers once again are arguing in the back of the campus’s Starbucks.

Turning around after serving a customer’s latte, he quietly watches Taehyung and Jeongguk ‘argue’. In which ‘arguing’ meant affectionately hugging each other when no one was looking.

(Donghyuk seemed to be the only one who noticed if Taehyung and Jeongguk kissed or went missing during their breaks, while everyone else was oblivious.)

He sighed, a bit annoyed that they were always so distracted, but smiles anyways since it was nice to see that his coworkers were in a happy relationship.

Glancing at the time, he realizes that he has two minutes before his shift ends. Excited, Donghyuk decides to take one more order before texting the group chat and asking if they were going to go bowling tonight.

“Hi, what can I get for you?” Donghyuk asks the customer in line, without looking up. He stares at his screen, fingers tapping the wooden countertop as he waited.

“Oh, um, hi.” The person stutters out, and Donghyuk looks up, his patience running low and he really wants to go home.

But all of that was thrown out of the window when he makes eye contact with the customer, completely blown away by their good looking appearance and warm hazelnut eyes.

 _Oh my god, can you not? That is illegal, sir, you can’t be that handsome. Rude. “_ Hi.” Donghyuk says again, feeling his face turn warm and red and he ducks his head. Clearing his throat, he repeats himself. “What would you like to order?”

“I’d like, er, a small caramel frappe, please,” The guy says, glancing up at the menu above and at Donghyuk. “Wait, a tall I mean?”

“S-sure! Tall caramel frappe, for..?” Donghyuk feels all jittery as he grabs a small paper cup and a sharpie.

“Yunhyeong,” he replies.

 _Yunhyeong, that sounds like an angels name. “_ Okay, anything else?” Donghyuk writes down Yunhyeong’s name on the cup and he sees him nod.

“That’ll be four dollars and twenty cents,” Donghyuk enters the order into the computer and waits for Yunhyeong to pay.

After a solid thirty seconds of pure panic in trying to find his wallet, Yunhyeong finally pulls out a five dollar bill, handing it to Donghyuk. Their hands briefly touch, and Donghyuk uses all of his willpower to stop himself from jumping back.

Entering the amount, he hands Yunhyeong his change and begins to work on his drink.

Donghyuk considers himself lucky that no one was behind Yunhyeong. He knows that Taehyung and Jeongguk already snuck to the back of the cafe to make out until their break ends, and for once, he's happy that they did.

Carefully making Yunhyeong’s drink, he pours in the coffee, milk, and sugar before mixing, adding a extra thick layer of whipped cream on top and drizzling a generous amount of caramel over. Putting on the lid, he hands the cool drink to Yunhyeong, smiling. “Here you go, have a nice day!” And he means it (surprisingly.)

Yunhyeong smiles softly back, and Donghyuk feels his cheeks turn dark red. “Thank you, I hope you have a great day as well,” Yunhyeong says, voice a bit low and they stare at each other for a second too long.

Donghyuk watches Yunhyeong leave, and it takes a few seconds to realize that he was holding in his breath. When the door shuts and it's just a few other customers left, Donghyuk lets out a shaky breath. Leaning against the counter, he uses the rest of his strength to stop himself from trembling.

 _Thankfully no one else saw my gay crisis..._ He thought to himself, relieved.

“That... was gayer than the two of us combined.” He hears Jeongguk say behind him.

“This is the first time I’ve seen _hoobae_ have a gay crisis at work.” Taehyung adds.

Jumping backwards, Donghyuk finds himself trying to deny that fact. “N-no, he was just really good looking and it caught me off guard.” He lies and laughs awkwardly, but Taehyung and Jeongguk seem to think differently.

A minute later, Donghyuk is being mercilessly teased by his _sunbae_ and _hoobae_ , who keep poking and prodding at him, wanting to know all of the details of his gay crisis.

“I gotta go now!!” Donghyuk finally whisper-shouts, taking off his apron and running to get his backpack from the back room. “You guys are on your own!”

Collecting his bag, he waves off his coworkers and rushes to his dorm. Searching is jean pocket, he finds his keys and fumbles with it, finally unlocking his door and quickly entering. Sighing out in relief, the tension in his shoulders going away. Dropping his bag, he straightens his back.

A loud thud comes from his room, and he freezes mid step. He waits to see if it’s from outside, but panics as he hears another thud. Looking around the foyer, he notices a few boxes here and there. An alarm rings in his head and he curls his hands into a fist, arching his back as he creeps through the hallway. Pressing his back against the wall beside the empty bedroom that was supposed to be for his roommate (but who moved out cause he moved into a different dorm room). Donghyuk holds his breath to listen to the heavy panting that came from the room.

 _Wow... I might actually die because of a robber..._ He thinks to himself, pulling his phone out and ready to call 911.

As he is about to call, the door swings open and it hits him in the face. In pain, he squints and stumbles out of the way to see who the robber was.

His breath stops as he realizes who stood before him, flustered and cheeks red. “Y-Yunhyeong?” Donghyuk stutters out, embarrassment flooding his cheeks.

Yunhyeong looks at him in shock too, head tilted and he gaps. “Y-you’re my roommate?”

 _Roommate? I thought I didn’t have one! And, and Yunhyeong is my roommate? Why does this sound like a reader x idol Wattpad fanfiction?_ The gears in Donghyuk's mind turn and he feels a giddy nervousness in his stomach. “I think so?” He responds and glances inside to the room that Yunhyeong would stay inside for.

He sees that there are still a bunch of boxes left to unpack, and he finds himself offering to help Yunhyeong to unpack everything.

“Sure!” Yunhyeong smiles, and Donghyuk has to squint his eyes because that smile is just _so damn bright._

“O-okay!” Donghyuk says, but finds an excuse to excuse himself for a few minutes. Pulling out his phone, he texts Junhoe.

_**Me:** Oh my god!!!!!!! I just got back to my dorm and my roommate is Yunhyeong!!!! My other roommate moved out and Yunhyeong is new!!!!!_

_**Noise Pollution:** Oh my god you guys are roommates._

_**Me:** What do I do???_

_**Noise Pollution:** The sheer amount of exclamation marks and question marks you put into one text is making me dyslexic._

_**Noise Pollution:** I guess.... woo him or something? Do a wink wonk and hopes that your hot face will seduce him._

_**Me:** You know I can’t do that!!!!! If anything, he’ll end up unintentionally seducing me!!!!_

_**Noise Pollution:** Oh my god._

Donghyuk texts Junhoe and tries to explain that he won’t be able to join him and Bobby for bowling tonight, but he’s left on read. Frowning, he pockets his phone. _This sucks, Junhoe is supposed to be there for me when I ramble about cute boys... I’m there for him and his long texts about Jinhwan!_ He pouts, and he walks down the hallway, back to the room that Yunhyeong would be sleeping in.

A dorky grin starts to appear on his face. _Oh my god... I can’t actually believe this..._ Donghyuk thinks as he watches Yunhyeong open a few more boxes and pulling out some belongings. Moving, he begins to help open the rest of the boxes and the rest of the day starts to fade into soft laughing and awkward chatter.

~~~ Yunhyeong’s POV (Third) ~~~

For some reason, Yunhyeong found himself keeping the cup that the barista at Starbucks gave him, long after the latte was finished. It’s definitely weird, to keep a _plastic cup that used to be a latte_ from Starbucks that a _super cute barista named Donghyuk_ served to him.

Walking to his newly assigned dorm room, he is relieved that his roommate isn’t exactly here yet. Opening the door, he is greeted with a waft of apples and cinnamon. The entrance is fairly clean and tidy, with the dark wooden flooring along the ground and the eggshell white walls with furniture pressed up against it.

Yunhyeong doesn’t dare to look into his new roommate’s room, but does take a mini tour around. The tiny living space with a stove, mini fridge, and sink are on one side of the room, and a couch, TV and large coffee table on the other side. Walking to the rooms down the hallway, he tries to pick out which one is his new room, and the other was his roommates.

He chooses the one on the right, gripping onto the handle and opening it up, wincing as the light poured out from the room. It was the same as his old one, with the bed pressed up against the far wall and a desk opposite to it, with a closet beside the desk. Sighing in relief, he lays down on the naked matress.

His old dorm room was definitely... uncomfortable to live in. His roommate, who goes by Min Yoongi, was almost like a cat who would hole up in his room for days if he didn’t have classes. Yunhyeong isn’t even _sure_ if he would be dead or not after the third day.

But as long as they didn’t really interact, things were fine. But all of a sudden, the first day of the second week rolled around and Yoongi brought in some guy that was literally the equivalent of the sun. Always smiling, always laughing and cheerful, Yunhyeong was surprised that Yoongi would be friends with this other boy.

“Friends” was actually the wrong word to use, but Yunhyeong was far to late to realize that. Loud sounds would come from the room late at night when Yoongi and this other boy would stay over for the night, and his _poor, poor ears._ Too scared for what could of happened, Yunhyeong went to the counsellors and asked for a room change.

And he’s here, in a room with a roommate who hopefully isn’t a cat who likes to hole himself up in his room, running on granola bars. Smiling to himself, maybe his college debut would run more smoother.

Getting up, he starts moving his boxes to his room.

That’s when he heard the door open, and he realizes that his new roommate would be here. Setting down one last box, Yunhyeong goes and opens his bedroom door to greet his roommate. He hears a loud smack and realizes that he _literally smacked the door in his roommates face._ Panic fills him and he rushes to see if he fatally wounded the other boy.

Before him was Donghyuk, the barista at Starbucks. The _cute_ barista, to be exact. His cheeks redden and he checks to see if Donghyuk was alright. Low and behold, Donghyuk was fine, grinning away the pain and he offered to help unpack Yunhyeong’s boxes.

After that, they ended up gently and awkwardly chatting, trying to know more about each other and talking about their interests as they finish up.

“Are you in any clubs?” Donghyuk asks, and Yunhyeong shakes his head. “Have you heard about the dance club?”

“I know one of my friends, Jung Chanwoo, is in it. Are you in it too?” Yunhyeong says, and he suddenly really wants to join the dance club.

“Yeah, I’m really excited about it.” Donghyuk smiles, and it’s probably the most purest thing that Yunhyeong has ever seen.

“Oh, cool! Who else is in it?” Leaning in, Yunhyeong really just wants to hear Donghyuk’s cute voice as he rambled on.

“Well... there are these two other dancers in it, Min Yoongi and Jung Hoseok...”

 _Oh no._  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait!! The beginning of April was actual hell for me and I was suffering a lot TT TT! But!! I’m doing good now and I actually updated this shit! 
> 
> Also, surprised by some of the BTS’s members appearance? I recently got into them (and TXT, ahhh <3) so you might see them appear here and there! ;-)
> 
> See you next time <333


	6. Just Be True To Yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a bit unmotivated to write this next chapter, but I somehow was able to write it in one sitting (XD)
> 
> My account on WattPad is CareyMeAway (if you wanna go read the exact same story on that site) ((if you do, maybe vote for my story? Or leave a comment?? :3 ))

~~~ Hanbin’s POV (Third) ~~~

_**Junhoe:** So what I’m saying is that you gotta be upfront!_

_**Junhoe:** Ask him out for coffee or something, my friend Donghyuk works at the Starbucks on campus_

_**Me:** I can’t do that! He’ll think I'm some sort of weirdo and then leave when he catches a glimpse of me!_

_**Junhoe:** You just gotta_

_**Junhoe:** YEET_

Hanbin frowns, turning off his phone and shoves it into his backpack. He reconsiders his choice of trusting Junhoe, Bobby’s friend and the colleges’s playboy, for advice. Especially if he’s going to get ‘yeet’ as a piece of advice. _Seriously, ‘yeet’ isn’t going to do anything._

Huffing in annoyance, Hanbin does decide to check out the Starbucks a few minutes away from the dorms. If anything, he can sit and be gay in silence, drinking his cup of iced latte and silently crying over the latest manhwa he found (he must argue, _Cherry Blossoms After Winter_ made him feel a lot of things).

The early September air welcomes him, and he finds it nice to take a calming morning walk on his day off. Lately, Hanbin has been staying up late to come up with a song that's been floating around in his head for a while. He's already gotten the lyrics and the general beat to it, but he’s stuck on putting it all together. Some things just don’t go well together, it’s either rigid or has a weird flow to it.

 _Coffee would do justice for me, I can’t stay sleep deprived forever,_ Hanbin thinks as he enters the Starbucks, the warm scent of coffee beans greeting him at the door. Barely anyone is here, other than the three baristas and one or two other seniors from the retirement building a few blocks away.

Sitting down, Hanbin observes the cafe a bit. It’s small but cozy, like his parent’s house. The tables are small, wooden chairs and stools are pressed up against the windows, the board behind the barista’s counters are full of advertisements and a hand-written menu in chalk.

The baristas themselves look at least a bit nice and friendly. Two of them are ‘secretly’ stealing kisses and playfully showing copious amounts of PDA, while the other one (who looks like he’s actually doing his work) seemed to be quietly dying inside.

Gulping, Hanbin decides that he should order something before the baristas start looking at him weirdly. Getting up from his seat, Hanbin walks up to the counter and the barista gives him a customer smile. “Hi, what can I get for you?” He asks, and Hanbin glances down to the barista’s name tag. It reads _Donghyuk_ , and he realizes that Junhoe was talking about this person.

“Uh, can I get a grand iced latte?” Hanbin asks, and Donghyuk nods. Hanbin pays and walks to the other side of the counter, pretending not to notice the two other baristas practically making out in the corner. Finally, he gets his order and thanks Donghyuk, and retreats back to his spot.

Pulling out his laptop, he plugs in his earphones and listens to his demo music, taking notes of things he could improve on and what he wants to fix. All goes well until he hears a familiar voice over his music, and Hanbin instantly freezes.

“Donghyuk! The usual, please!”

 _Oh god, it’s Bobby!! Why is he here, does he know Donghyuk? Since Junhoe knows Donghyuk and Bobby knows Junhoe, it must mean that they're all friends?_ His mind races and Hanbin forces himself not to look up at the extremely hot guy that he's been crushing on for the past year (give or take?) a few feet away from him.

But — he curses his curiosity — Hanbin ends up looking up. Bobby has dyed his hair to a super unique (and a bit strange) shade of purple, but _oh my god, please help me now!_

He makes a lot of not-so sneaky glances to Bobby, who gets his order and chats up Donghyuk for a few more seconds, before pushing himself off of the counter and walking to an open seat.

... which happens to be towards Hanbin’s direction. Panic washes over him and he looks around, realizing that most of the cafe is already filled up. The only seat open was right in front of him, and Bobby was walking right to it.

_Please lord, someone save me, I'm going to die early without even publishing my song. If Jinhwan was here, maybe none of this would be happening right now—_

“Excuse me, is it okay if I sit here?”

Hanbin’s head snaps up, and Bobby, an actual God himself, stands before him. He seems extra casual, only wearing a long sleeved shirt, ripped jeans and converses. Bobby smiles at him, and Hanbin is very sure that his soul has just left his body.

“Y-yes! Yes, yeah, totally!” He stutters out, hands waving around frantically, the words were surprisingly easily to say.

Bobby gives him that signature bunny teeth grin, and Hanbin can confirm that his soul has left him. He watches as Bobby takes a seat right in front of him, leaning back and relaxing his arms on the support behind him.

It’s silence for a few seconds, and Hanbin thinks that he might be able to get away with not interacting with him (unless he wants a death sentence). He looks back as his music and clicks _play_ , and the beats of the bass and drums fill his ears. Hanbin almost got lost into his own music when he hears Bobby say something.

“Hey, are you Kim Hanbin? Sophomore?” He asks, and Hanbin blinks at him. “You’re the guy who bumped into me on the first day of first semester this year!”

 _Please don’t remind me of that tragic event,_ “Y-yeah... that was me, haha.” Hanbin awkwardly coughs, feeling his face flush.

“Okay, great.” Bobby searches for something in his pocket, and pulls out a folded piece of paper. “You dropped this last time, your course sheet.” He hands it over, smiling a bit.

“Oh my god, I thought I lost it!” Hanbin almost exclaims, picking up the paper and looking at it. It’s still neatly folded and there were no wrinkles to it, like it was neatly kept for some special occasion like this. “T-thank you!”

The smile on Bobby’s face grows wider, and Hanbin feels his heart race. It was unbelievably bright, and he was surprised that Bobby even showed him his smile.

“Whatcha got there?” Bobby then asks, nodding towards Hanbin's laptop.

“O-oh, uh, just some project I was doing. For music. I’m composing a song.” Hanbin finds himself anwsering, which was weird because he’d never tell anyone that he didn’t know about his music. Yet he easily told Bobby, someone he didn’t know, about what he’s doing.

Bobby’s eyes light up, and he grins. “Is it okay if listen?” It comes out of nowhere, but there was no actual way that Hanbin could say no. _I mean, look at him! How can I say no to that!_ “S-sure.”

Swinging his chair over, Bobby sits beside Hanbin and leans over. Hanbin finds it incredibly sudden, the amount of heat that radiates off of the other boy made his mind fog up. Passing one earphone, he then swallows nervously and presses play.

 _“You’re my type, you’re my type. Even if you don’t say anything, I have a feeling. From your head to your toes, everything.”_ Oh god, did his voice actually sound this weird? Did he always sound like he was out of breath and on edge and nervous?

The song continues on and finally, after a torturous three minutes and thirty three seconds later, the songs ends. Looking up from his screen, he hopes that Bobby doesn’t think that Hanbin is 100% cringe worthy.

Sucking in a breath, Bobby looks like he wants to say something but doesn’t. Hanbin’s mind goes right to panic mode, and he regrets even thinking that this was a good idea.

Suddenly, Bobby finds his words, which startles Hanbin. “W-wow. That was... really good. Insanely good, what the heck?” Bobby gives Hanbin an incredulous look, mixing with surprise and awe.

“Really?” Hanbin squeaks, the panic going away, along with the tension in his shoulders.

“Yeah.” Bobby nods, and then purses his lips. “Can I suggest something?”

Nodding, Hanbin eagerly listens to Bobby. “Why don’t you add some rap to it? Balances out the singing and to give it an even more upbeat tone.”

 _Holy heck, that makes sense! The thing is, I can’t rap..._ “I’m not a rapper, though...”

Bobby smiles again, his bunny teeth showing. “I am! Wait a sec—.” Clearing his throat, Bobby all of a sudden is _rapping the beginning to Hanbin’s song._

He couldn’t believe his ears! First of all, Bobby, his longtime crush, was actually a really good rapper? And the rap flowed much nicer and smoother than it being sung! And secondly, _I’ll pass out any second now!_

Once Bobby finishes, he glances back at Hanbin. “How was that?”

 _Perfect, amazing, spectacular, awesome, incredible, brilliant, please date me—_ “It was, uhh, really good!” _Use your words, trash bin!_

Bobby doesn’t seem like he can stop smiling, it was literally the fourth or fifth time he’s smiled to Hanbin in the past ten minutes.

Hanbin doesn’t know how (correction, has NO clue of how) the two of them ended up talking afterwards. It seems to of just snowballed from there, both of them excitedly talking about music and rapping and singing. Bobby’s eyes has a little shine to it as he talks about how he’s always wanted to be a musical composer and rapper, but things haven’t worked that well for him and he decided on college instead.

“It’s not too late, I’m sure that you could still pursue music if you really wanted to.” Hanbin ends up telling Bobby, and he feels like he’s really telling himself that.

“Yeah... I just feel like it would be hard for everyone around me. My parents want me to go to school and get good grades, and I don’t have anyone to really support me for what I want to do.” He explains, and Hanbin feels his heart fall a bit there.

Before he knows it, Hanbin’s thoughts are coming out as words. “I’ll be by your side, I can support you and cheer you on.” _What am I saying?_

The other boy blinks, and then he gives Hanbin possibly one of the most brightest grins ever. “Really, you’d do that?”

“Yeah, I know what it’s like to not have anyone support me in my music.” It's not fully true— Hanbin has Jinhwan, but his friend isn’t as invested in music as he is.

“Oh my god, this is just, woah.” Bobby leans back, pressing his hands onto the sides of his head. “Wow. I can’t actually believe this? We literally just met an hour ago and I? Already have someone who supports me? For my music? What is this, a _Wattpad_ fanfiction?”

Hanbin lets out a little giggle, “Maybe.” He says, and Bobby laughs with him.

It so weird, it was as if they’ve known each other for so much longer. Like they were friends or something in their past life. There was no traces of awkwardness (besides Hanbin’s loudly beating heart) or hesitation in their conversations. _Weird, this is so weird. Am I dreaming, cause this is one damn good dream._

Soon, Bobby excuses himself and tells Hanbin that he has to go to his first class. They exchange phone numbers and Hanbin waves Bobby off, the jittery giddiness leaving him too as he watches the purple haired boy leave the cafe.

He then leaves too, packing up and walking back to his shared dorm. The day passes like usual, everything was a confusing blur and he doesn’t remember much. Hanbin does know that Bobby started the texting conversation _first_ and it seemed to be too good to be true.

They texted a bit (mostly about music, of course) and it moved onto the next day, where Hanbin was constantly seeing if Bobby would text him. Days passed and everytime they’d talk, it felt like they were getting closer and closer. A dream, really.

After all of this time, Hanbin somehow became friends with his crush. It was so fast— faster than _Usain Bolt_ — that he almost couldn’t keep up with it.

He smiled more often than not, which Jinhwan had called him out on it ( _“Hey, what's with you? Smiling at your phone like that?”_ He’d tease).

Yet one day, he’s greeted with a text that stops his blood cold.

_**Bobby <3:** Can you meet me at the cafe? It’s important and I don’t know what to do anymore._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope it wasn’t too bad T v T
> 
> I have another fic that I just updated yesterday, a crackfic like group chat featuring iKON x BTS !! Check it out, it’s called Group Chat: Operation Get My OTPs Together (you know, if you wanna :I )
> 
> Also: Do you know what song Hanbin played for Bobby? True iKONics would know!! XD
> 
> ((Comments give me life, please leave some!! TT o TT ))


	7. I Wish That Everything Was Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> iKON Fighting!! Can’t Spell iKON without B.I. iKON is iKON, all 7 of them. We fight for Hanbin!!
> 
> On another note, in this fic: Bobby does a sad :(( (but Hanbin is there for emotional support :’) )

~~~ Bobby’s POV (Third) ~~~

He fidgeted in his spot, leg bouncing at the speed of light and his mind kept going and going. His hands were sweaty, much to his dismay, and he couldn’t stop rubbing them against his pant leg. His heart pounded against his chest, jolts of nervousness here and there. Bobby, the most popular boy on campus, having a slight anxiety attack? Unheard of. But was it happening? _Yup, send help right now._

Bobby guesses that if he simply just avoided going out and instead, stay inside like a hermit crab, he wouldn’t be in this position right now. Freaking out at the cafe, with Donghyuk looking at him nervously from the counter, and getting some stares from the two other baristas and seniors from the retirement home.

He was impulsive; he texted Hanbin first. Not Donghyuk, not Mino, not Namjoon. Hanbin. Was it because that he was at the top of his most recent contacts? Was it because they’ve been talking a lot (more than Bobby thought they would, to be honest)? Was it because Hanbin was sort of on his mind lately?

No, no, no. This isn’t about himself and Hanbin. This is about what he just saw; his best friend and hard-core crush of the century with some other guy! Out in the open! Like they were on a date! (Junhoe also looked super happy too? _Why can’t I make him smile like that?!_ )

Bobby spotted them around the park a few blocks away from campus, walking around and so very close to holding hands. Junhoe wouldn’t stop staring at the shorter boy, totally infatuated with him. Was he jealous? No, absolutely not. Kim Jiwon was NOT jealous of some shortie.

 _Maybe I should go on a walk or clear my mind instead of being in this stuffy cafe._ Bobby thinks to himself, looking out the window frequently. Reaching to his cup of cool coffee, he drinks it almost too quickly, the caffeine running through his veins and he's even more jittery than before. _Great, I think I made things worse._

Bobby hears his phone ping, and checks it, thinking it’s Hanbin. But no, instead it Junhoe, much to his slight disappointment.

_**Junhweeeee: Sup, you up for bowling tonight?** _

_No I am not_ , Bobby frowns, turning his phone off and setting it face down on the wooden table. Biting on the inside of his cheek, he hopes Hanbin will come. He hopes that he can have someone to talk to, someone that'll understand.

It’s only been a week, but it felt like Bobby has known Hanbin for forever. Like they were some sort of idols in their past life who were always close before.

It was just so natural for them, their conversations don’t seem to have an end. Always something to talk and laugh about, always something to joke about. They already have three inside jokes, more than what he and Junhoe has! (Bobby’s favourite is by far, about crocs. No, he’s not willing to explain exactly why.)

His anxiety simmers down just a tad bit, his thoughts of Hanbin seemingly doing God’s work, and he finds himself smiling a bit. His hands a bit less tense than earlier and his fidgiting has mostly stopped.

The bell rings and Bobby immediately looks up, catching a glimpse of that red hoodie and black jean jacket with some ungodly orange sweats and white sneakers. That messy brown hair swept to one side, a bit of a nervous look on the guy’s face.

Hanbin was here, in the Starbucks with him.

The taller boy watches as Hanbin looks around for a few seconds, before their eyes meet and a grin forms on his face. “Bobby, hi!” He waves and starts to walk towards the wooden table Bobby has secured as their base.

Glancing to Donghyuk at the counters, Bobby watches in amusement because he’s quite sure Donghyuk was not expecting that. _It’s okay_ , he mouths to his friend, and Donghyuk lets out a relieved sigh and nods.

The chair makes a loud screech and Hanbin apologizes as he sits down. “Hi, um, how are you?” He asks, tapping his fingers together and tilts his head nervously.

Bobby forces himself to smile, as he remembers what happened an hour or two ago. “Eh, I could be much better. How are you?”

“Alright,” Hanbin places down his phone and leans forward a bit. He opens his mouth to say something, pauses, swallows and then gulps before saying, “Are you sure you’re doing okay? You don’t look well, and it feels that something is hurting you.”

100 points for Gryffindor, Hanbin literally just exposed him without Bobby needed to expose himself. He’s definitely surprised, not even Junhoe would notice if Bobby was having a bad day or not.

Hanging his head, Bobby nods and shifts in his seat. “Well, you are right about that,” he says, leaning back into his chair. Inhaling, he’s ready to spill the tea of everything when Donghyuk all of a sudden approaches their table, interrupting them.

“Two couple drinks, the mocha drizzled frappe and caramel honey latte,” Donghyuk says, giving the two of them his signature customer smile and setting down the drinks.

Hanbin looks at Donghyuk in alarm, his head whipping back and forth from the barista, the drinks, to Bobby and then back to the barista. “I, um, sorry, I didn’t order this? Bobby, did you order the c-couple drinks?” His cheeks noticeably darkened, visibly panicking in his seat.

“Not that I remembered? Donghyuk, did you get the order wrong...?” _What are you doing??? Donghyukkie, what is going on?_

“Don’t worry, it’s on the house.” Donghyuk smiles again, which looks like his more natural smile rather than a forced on. He leaves them shocked and retreats back to the counters.

Blinking, Bobby stares at his drink. The mocha drizzled frappe sits in front of him, thick layer of whipped cream with the dark syrupy mocha drizzle seeping into the pure white. The most ridiculous thought comes in his head, with his brain telling him that _wow, this should remind you of Hanbin. Also, couple drinks! Didn’t know they have couple drinks but Donghyuk is definitely trying to tell me something, I think._

He sits there for another second, before immediately standing up, slamming his palms against the wooden table and shouts “Couple drinks?!” At Donghyuk. He’s met with a lot of looks, mostly concern but there are some give him an amused look.

Cheeks now red, he snatches his latte, grabs Hanbin’s hand and pulls him out of the Starbucks, all while trying to avoid Donghyuk’s mischievous smile and the two other baristas grins. They walk for a little while, to the park near the campus (and, unconviently, where he saw Junhoe and that shortie.)

Heart pounding, he finally slows to a stop and turns back around, “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting my friend to do that.”

Hanbin offers Bobby a kind smile, “I wasn’t either.” He says, and his eyes lower down to their connected hands.

Bobby does the same, and immediately jumps back, the warmth that spread between them now gone. “Ack, sorry, I didn’t realize that I still was holding your hand...” He stammers. He realizes that it’s his first time ever like this, all awkward and weird. He’s never weird with Junhoe or Donghyuk. Not with Mino or Namjoon! So why...?

“So, what did you want to tell me?” Hanbin changes the subject, and Bobby silently thanks him. _Seriously, I’ve been thinking too much lately._

“Well, the person I... like... I saw them with another person, and it was like they were on a date. I think I just got... jealous in a way, and I wanted to talk about it with someone who I trust.” It sounded so stupid. Because he was _jealous_? It’s not like Junhoe was his boyfriend or anything, it’s unfair for all of them to be in this situation. “Damn, that sounds really lame. I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess.”

Hanbin doesn’t really react, or at least show that he is affected by what Bobby said to him, but he does hold out his arms. “Do you want a hug?”

“Yes please,” Bobby steps into the hug, and he finds himself sighing in relief closes his eyes. The fabric against his face is oddly soft, their arms wrapped around each other’s chest, their scents mingling and warmth spreading across his whole body.

Bobby isn’t someone who likes personal affection, but this was really nice. Something he definitely needed.

There were soft foot steps, and then he hears them stop. Opening his eyes, he sees the same shortie that was with Junhoe earlier, standing a good ten feet away from them. A bewildered look was present on the boy’s face, before it turns pained. “Bin...?” The boy says, voice shaky.

Bobby lets go of Hanbin, taking a step back. Hanbin turns around and sees the boy in front of them and is taken aback. “Jinani? What are you doing here?”

 _Who asks that sort of question?_ Bobby watches as the scene unfolds around him that happens all too fast.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing. I was just, going to the cafe,” Jinani stammers out, and before Hanbin he turns around and runs the opposite way of the cafe.

Out of nowhere, Bobby finds himself moving. “Talk to you later? I want to clear up some things with him, if that’s okay.”

Hanbin just nods, and Bobby runs after Jinani. His lungs burn from the lack of exercise he’s been doing for the past week, but he’s able to catch up to the shorter and slower boy.

“Hey, hey!” Bobby reaches out and grabs onto Jinani’s sleeves, and the smaller boy whips around and pushes him away.

“What, why are you following me?” Jinani coils back into himself, hiding his face and those tears that stream down his cheeks.

It clicks almost too easily, the puzzle pieces coming together. “You like him, you like Hanbin.”

Jinani’s head snaps up and Bobby has a clear view of shortie’s face. Bright red cheeks, wide eyes and permed light brown hair. “How did you, I don’t—!”

“No one would just run away if they saw a friend hugging someone else. You like Hanbin...” Bobby narrows his eyes as he thinks. “Why where you with Junhoe?”

“Why where you with Hanbin? A date, where you on a date with him?” Jinani counters, using his uno reverse card.

“No I wasn’t, I don’t like him that way! He’s just a friend, I like someone else.” He argues, and notices that Jinani noticeably relaxes and lets out a little _oh_.

“Oh, I, I’m sorry, I just...” The shorter boy immediately recoils again, apologizing and he looks like he wants to turn back time. “I thought, I mean, I was with Junhoe, but I don’t like him in that way either.”

Now it was Bobby’s turn to feel relieved. “Okay.” Is all he can say.

“Um... so... I’m guessing you like Junhoe?” Jinani murmurs, and Bobby nods.

They stand their, unsure of what to say. The cool breeze blows past them, and Bobby looks around.

Bobby lets out a awkward cough, “Good luck, then... Jinani?”

“Jinhwan.” Jinhwan corrects, but he tries to smile at Bobby. “Good luck with Junhoe, Bobby.”

They nod at each other and turn to walk their seperate ways. Bobby shoots a quick text to Hanbin telling him that things were cleared up and that he’ll see him in class tomorrow. He gets a reply and a smiley face.

Getting back to his shared dorm, he finds Junhoe aggressively playing a video game with an online friend who goes by Chanu.

Laying in his bed, he suddenly comes to terms with a few things.

One, how does Jinhwan know his name? Two, why does Jinhwan’s name sound so familiar? Like Junhoe has said it to him before? And three, Hanbin never texts him a closed mouth smiley face, not for the whole week he’s known him for.

And then it finally comes to a full circle.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS ;-; (My only source of motivation hhhh)
> 
> HANBIN DESERVES BETTER, iKONICS FIGHTING!! YG CAN PERISH IN HIS DUNGEON (but he stepped down so like hahha suck it) 
> 
> Also, my mom has unofficially banned electronics for the summer meaning that I won’t be allowed on social media or able to post anything :(((((( (she doesn’t know that, but it’s still unfair). I will try to update as many fics as I can for this account ;-;
> 
> Till next time :DD


	8. I Wish I Was A Part Of Something...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well well well,,,, it’s me,,,, back for the eight chapter... No, I didn’t abandon this, I just didn’t have any inspiration to write for months. Hope you enjoy this chapter! More angst is coming up :”)

~~~ Junhoe’s POV (Third) ~~~

_**Adorable Boy Who I Love:** How did you get my number?! >:(_

_**Me:** I have my ways ;)_

_**Me:** A friend gave your number to me. I think their name is Jinwoo?_

_**Adorable Boy Who I Love:** I can’t believe he betrayed me. I’m blocking him and you later._

_**Me:** So I’ll see you at the cafeteria at 3, okay?_

_**Adorable Boy Who I Love:** Absolutely not._

_**Me:** See you <333_

Throwing his phone across his bed, Junhoe stares at the blank ceiling, feeling all giddy inside. He’s going on a date, _he’s going on a date!_ He’s not sure if he wants to shout in victory or throw a quick celebration for himself. Good thing Bobby isn’t here, or else he would be scolded for making a mess.

Pushing himself off of his bed, Junhoe fist pumps the air and hurries to his closet, trying to think of what he should wear. He wants this first date with Jinhwan to not be a disaster. As he chooses what he thinks Jinhwan would be impressed by, he narrows down his outfits to a white hoodie, black jeans and Vans sneakers or a long sleeved black shirt over a white collared tee, dark blue jeans and white Adidas sneakers.

 _Which one, which one?_ Narrowing his eyebrows, his brain cells at work, Junhoe tries to pick which outfit he should wear for his date. Both of them look great, but which one would look _greater_?

Eventually, Junhoe pulls up Donghyuk’s number and asks him for help.

_**Me:** Which one is cooler? This one?_

_**Me:** *picture sent*_

_**Me:** Or this one??_

_**Me:** *picture sent*_

_**Ding Dong:** The first one!!! Looks like your about to do a three hour gaming session!!_

_**Ding Dong:** The second one!! Looks like your trying to hard!!_

_**Me:** So both?_

_**Ding Dong:** Neither!!! Stop trying so hard to impress the guy you like!! I’m coming over so you won’t look like you raided Forever 21!! >:|_

Sighing, Junhoe tosses both outfits onto his bed and waits for Donghyuk to come over. Around the two minute mark, he hears the door of the shared dorm open and close. “Goo Junhoe, _please_ tell me that you’re not going to wear both outfits to your date!” Donghyuk calls out.

“If I didn’t text you, who knows?” Junhoe chuckles as Donghyuk makes his way to Junhoe’s room with a pouty and slightly irritated face. “Don’t give me that look, it should be reserved for your boyfriend.”

“Yunhyeong isn’t my _boyfriend_ ,” Donghyuk’s pout deepens, “We’re just friends,” he says, and his pout changes into a frown when he takes a peek at what resides in Junhoe's closet.

“ _Sure_ , just like how your coworkers aren’t dating.” Junhoe replies, and Donghyuk sputters.

“Junhoe! Yunhyeong and I are literally roommates, there is _no_ way that someone so perfect and handsome would like someone like me! I’m just some barista at Starbucks,” Donghyuk picks out a simple dark blue long sleeved vee neck, and black ripped jeans.

Throwing it at Junhoe, he leans against Junhoe’s door and folds his arms. “Anyways, you are trying to impress him with your personality, not your looks. You’re already hot enough, but the guy you described seems to be into guys with personality.”

“Wow, if I didn’t know that you had a crush on some other guy, I would’ve thought you were flirting with me!” Junhoe says and Donghyuk shoots him a non-threatening glare. It was like a puppy whose treats got taken from them. “Alright, alright. Thank you, Donghyuk, I really appreciate it.” He feels his upbeat, joking tone simmer down and it becomes sincere.

Smiling, Donghyuk gives Junhoe a thumbs up, “As long as you have your one brain cell, you’ll be fine. C’mon, let's get this bread.”

Hours later, Junhoe waits nervously at the cafeteria entrance, looking around for Jinhwan. He came way earlier than what he planned, constantly checking his phone every passing second.

Five minutes past their meet up time, Junhoe gets a feeling that Jinhwan might not come. His smile turns into a frown, his shoulders sagging and he glances at his phone one last time. No new calls or texts, maybe he shouldn't of been so pushy yesterday or this morning.

Turning his phone off, Junhoe puts his phone away in his jean pockets and lets out a heavy sigh. He turns around and is about to head back to his dorm room when he sees Jinhwan in front of him.

“That’s new, I’ve never seen you so upset before.” Jinhwan says, tilting his head. He wears a blue and white stripped long sleeve shirt, light blue jeans and a grey beret. Junhoe’s not going to lie, he’s absolutely blown away by Jinhwan’s beauty. How could someone be so cute and sexy at the same time?

“I, um, I didn’t think that you’d come.” Junhoe says, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He scratches the back of his head, eyes quickly averting to the ground.

“I didn’t think so either,” Jinhwan murmurs, just loud enough so only Junhoe could make out a few words. Raising his voice and straightening his posture, Jinhwan tilts his face up and scrunches up his nose slightly, “So, where to?”

Junhoe feels the edges of his lips curve up, and all of a sudden his cheerfulness comes back to him. “There’s a park nearby, we should go there!” He itches to hold Jinhwan's hand, but feels that it’s not the time yet. Instead, he leads the way, trying to keep the conversation going until they get there.

It takes around ten minutes until Junhoe sees the falling leaves from the trees and the handful of people near the entrance. “We’re here! What do you want to do first? There is a good crepe stand somewhere, there are lakes and fountains where we can feed the ducks... Maybe we can take pictures and upload them to our Instagrams? Wait, do you have Instagram? Is it okay if I follow you?” He doesn't realize that he’s rambling on until he takes a glance at Jinhwan, who seems slightly disinterested.

“O-or we can just walk...” Junhoe says instead, feeling that it’s the safest thing to do on their first date. Getting a head nod from Jinhwan, relief floods over his body and he keeps his smile on his face.

Junhoe would very much like to say that the date is going great. He’s planned out a lot of things they could be doing now, but instead, the date seems to feel... disappointing. Jinhwan seems to be giving him a vibe that Junhoe doesn’t want to believe. It’s like, Jinhwan doesn’t want to be here, and that it’s just all one sided. As Junhoe looks at Jinhwan every so often, it soon comes to him when he realizes that Jinhwan must like someone else.

When they arrive to a park bench after a good twenty minute walk in the park, Junhoe suggests that they should take a break. Sitting down, Junhoe closes his eyes for a brief moment. He wonders if he mistook Jinhwan’s attitude before. _God, I’m really stupid, huh? Of course he wouldn’t be interested or like me, he barely even knew I existed until yesterday._

Swallowing, Junhoe leans back and rests his arm over the park bench. “Hey... I know that you’re not enjoying this date.”

Jinhwan's head snaps up and he looks at Junhoe, surprised. “W-what? N-no, no, it’s not like that, I just, um, no...” He stumbles a bit, shaking his head.

“I know you like someone else. I can tell by the way you look as we talked.” It hurts to know that the person Jinhwan likes isn’t him, but who can blame him? Whoever Jinhwan likes must be amazing and talented and brilliant and probably super handsome. Whose Junhoe kidding? He probably can’t even compete against the person Jinhwan is whipped for. “It’s okay, I’m not forcing you to continue this date with me.”

He pauses, not able to look at Jinhwan, “All I want to know is why you look so sad. If I can’t make you laugh or smile, I want to know why you aren’t smiling when you think of the person you like.”

Jinhwan stays silent for a bit, and Junhoe can tell that the shorter boy is trying to come up with what he wants to say. He can see the gears in Jinhwan's brain moving, but the words just don’t seem to be coming out.

“I-I don’t know.” Jinhwan stammers, fidgeting, “I mean, I do know, it’s just, just, I know that the guy I like... likes someone else.” Head hanging, Jinhwan plays with the strings of his shirt and he forces out a sentence that punches Junhoe in the face.

“I-I like Kim H-Hanbin, but he likes this guy n-named Bobby.”

A full circle. Junhoe cannot believe that Jinhwan likes Hanbin, the guy whose pinning for his best friend (and also who he texts to give support to.) It seems to be some sort of messed up love triangle, and suddenly Junhoe can’t help but to feel like he doesn’t belong in any of it. He feels like he’s just some outsider that shouldn’t exist in it, a background character in a drama.

“Kim Hanbin? I think I know him.” Junhoe lies, removing his arm from the park bench and leaning forwards, clasping his hands together. “Is it alright if I ask why?”

Jinhwan nods, now picking at his nails. “I’ve loved him since tenth grade. He was there for me when no one else bothered to stay by my side. He helped me get out of my shell and make me feel safe. He was the only person who became my friend when I was alone, he introduced me to so many things that I wouldn’t of experienced without him. I... I love him. So much.” Tears begin to fall from Jinhwan's eyes, and he wipes them away with his sleeves.

While Junhoe forces himself not to show any pain or heartbreak, he gives Jinhwan an encouraging smile. “Why don’t you tell him that you love him? If you don’t say anything, it might be too late.” He feels his heart shattering with every word.

“R-really? Are you sure?” Jinhwan asks, that feisty and confident demeanour diminishing. He seemed so small and fragile, and Junhoe wants to hold him tight and never let him go. He wants to protect Jinhwan and shower him with all his love, tell him that things will be okay, yet he can’t. He’s already forced his feelings onto Jinhwan, and he can’t continue to push.

So instead, he has to let go. “Just go to him, it's okay. I’ll be here when you need a shoulder to cry on. Don’t worry...” He swallows, feeling his heart shatter bit by bit. _I’ll let go of the hand that I once held. Before I change my mind, before I regret this..._

“Just go.”

He watches Jinhwan finish wipping away his tears, before standing up and giving Junhoe a sad smile. “I’m sorry,” Jinhwan whispers, before swallowing, “But, thank you.”

The taller boy watches the smaller boy turn his back to him, and begins to run. His figure grows smaller and smaller, before Junhoe knows that Jinhwan is out of his site and gone forever. Curling up, Junhoe covers his face with his hands and lets out tiny sobs. He hides his tears behind his hands, and only showing what he wants to show everyone who passes by.

He wants to call Donghyuk for emotional support, but instead, he impulsively texts Bobby.

_**Me:** Sup, you wanna go bowling tonight?_

He doesn’t get any reply, and feels like he deserves it. He's been technically setting up Jinhwan’s crush with his best friend, and in result, more angst and sad boy hours than what he expected.

Finally blinking his tears away, Junhoe gets up and walks back to his dorm room. He sends a quick text to Donghyuk, telling him that he didn’t get the boy, and that he wants two extra venti caramel macchiatos so he can drown his sadness away.

When he reaches his dorm room, he slides into his swirly chair and turns on the power to his computer, hoping to distract himself from his rejection. Junhoe sees that Chanu is online, and sends him a DM, telling him that he’s online.

“What’s up?” Chanu says into the mic as Junhoe puts his headphones.

“I just got dumped by the guy I liked,” Junhoe replies, not realizing that his voice was this raw and raspy, “So I’m getting a friend to bring over a bunch of drinks from Starbucks, where he works. It’s sad boy hours, Chanu.”

“Ouch, I can’t relate but I can empathize,” Chanu comments, “Do you want any emotional support?”

Junhoe groans as his character is killed on screen. “I don’t think snipping me is emotional support.” He clicks restart and thinks of a way to get revenge.

“It’s all I got, June.” Chanu lets out a chuckle, before his voice turns serious. “I don’t even know what happened, but all I can tell you is to be there for the guy you like if things don’t work for him. If he goes to you, you just might have a chance with him. Be the friend he needs before you even think of being his boyfriend.”

He lets out a sigh, letting Chanu’s words swirl around his head. He notices the dorm room door open and close, and he guesses that it’s Bobby. He pushes down his irritation for the situation he isn’t totally apart in, since it’s not Bobby’s fault that Hanbin likes him instead of Jinhwan.

Finally, Junhoe lets go of his disappointment and tries to smile again. “Thanks, Chanu.”

“Anytime.” Chanu says, before snipping Junhoe’s character again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand we’re at the end! Don’t worry, the angst isn’t going to last too long! We just got Jinani’s chapter (of hardcore angst) before things get all fluffy and wholesome uwu!! I apoligize for the super late update, but I hope you all like it! Till next time!

**Author's Note:**

> I love comments!! Please, write something to keep me motivated!!! Even just a few words makes my day <333


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